WARNING: T-rated.
WRITTEN FOR QLFC, RESERVE LEAGUE
SEASON 9, ROUND 9
Seeker
WC: 1672
The doom-black crow cawed and took flight, its wings gleaming in the sunlight. It flew over her head, dropping a blood-red poppy in front of her, and perched itself on a thick branch of the juniper tree. Luna nibbled on her lower lip and bent to pick up the flower, her stomach queasy.
Soon, it was joined by another crow, and then another. The branch was soon laden with the cawing creatures, who spread their wings and huddled together, blood-red poppies clutched in their claws. Luna stared at them, and they all stared right back, their eyes a beady black and filled with something the nine-year-old girl couldn't name.
The crow had been following Luna ever since the Lovegoods had moved into the new house, but this was the first time that others had joined it. Luna didn't like the way their watchful gaze refused to waver from her; it was creepy. At first, the lonely girl had tried to make a little game of it.
"You can't see me if I'm hiding, Mr Crow," Luna said, ducking behind a tree and covering her face as if the action would stop her from being spotted. She wished her hair wasn't tied in a ponytail; she would have used it as a curtain to hide her instead.
The crow cawed and flew past her, its wing brushing her head as it dropped a blood-red poppy in her hair. Luna peeked through her fingers at the bird as it landed on the ground a few feet away. She laughed and lowered her hands. "Okay, you caught me! Let's try again!"
Luna had spent a lot of time outside in the field with the crow. It never came too close to her, but Luna didn't mind. She used to sit under a tree and talk to the crow about the creatures her parents told her about. Sometimes, she had even fed pieces of her sandwiches to her friend.
"Mr Crow, are you hungry? Would you like a piece of my sandwich? It's got cheese in it, but I think you'll like it," she said, tearing off a sizable bit and tossing it towards the crow.
The crow hopped on over and began pecking at the cheese. Wolfing the bread down, it turned its head and stared at Luna.
She giggled before tearing off some more bread and tossing it towards the crow. "I'm glad you like it!"
Just then, her mum came out of the forest, her clothes dirty and mud streaked on her face. She hobbled over to Luna's side and sat down. Ruffling Luna's blonde hair, her mum asked, "Who are you talking to, honey?"
"The cr—" Luna trailed off when she realised the crow had flown away. In its place was the same flower the crow always left behind: a red poppy. Luna leaned over and picked up the flower, cradling it in her hand and already making plans on preserving it in her room. "Nothing, Mummy. How's your experiment going? Did you find anything interesting?"
"Not yet, sweetie," her mum said. She wrapped her arm around Luna's shoulders and pulled her closer. "Enough about my experiment. Are you eating Daddy's sandwiches? Come on, we'll head back home and I'll make something better. What would you like to have for dinner?"
"Ooh, could we have ice cream, Mummy?"
"Of course, darling. Whatever you want," her mum said, kissing Luna's temple. "And then, we can watch the stars from the roof."
Luna clapped her hands before dragging her mum towards the house, all thoughts of strange crows forgotten already.
But then, as the days had passed, the playful crow had turned...gloomy.
It still followed her around, bringing her the red poppies, but now, it refused to let her out of its sight. Luna asked her mum to save the flowers with magic, and she decorated her room with the flowers. The crow remained perched on her bedroom windowsill, and at night, it would fly over to the large juniper tree that was visible from her window. The bird remained at a distance and never let her parents see it, but its eyes were always trained on her.
Luna was staring at the familiar crow perched on the windowsill when her mum entered the room.
"What are you looking at, my love?" her mum asked. She sat down beside Luna on the bed, and it creaked under their combined weight.
"Mr Crow, Mummy," Luna said, pointing at the sill, but to her surprise, the crow was long gone, a red poppy left in its wake. She quickly picked up the flower, wondering why the crow didn't like to be around others.
"Oh, really?" Her mum leaned back against the pillows and pulled Luna under her arm. "Do you know what seeing a crow means?"
"No, Mummy. What does it mean?" Luna snuggled against her mum and rested her head on her shoulder.
"Crows symbolize transformation and change, my darling. It's true a lot of people consider crows to be bad omens, but I think they're wrong. They're intelligent creatures, crows… Whoever heard of crows foretelling doom and sadness, huh?"
"That's so silly, Mummy," Luna said, giggling at the thought. "Mr Crow is nice. He even likes Daddy's sandwiches."
"Now that's silly. Whoever likes Daddy's sandwiches must be crazy," her mum said cheekily, and Luna laughed.
Luna stared up at the trees, filled with black crows. Hundreds of them, staring intently at her with black, unblinking eyes. And for the first time, Luna felt afraid.
When the murder of crows began cawing and flapping their wings, a sense of foreboding enveloped Luna in its chilling embrace. An image of bright light and blood soaking everything in sight flashed through her mind.
Not looking back at the crows, she hurried into the house, her heart thumping wildly against her ribs. She darted into the kitchen to find her mum, but the kitchen was empty.
Sprinting towards her dad, who was walking down the stairs with a glass of pumpkin juice in hand, Luna cried out, "Daddy! Where's Mummy? I'm scared!"
She threw herself into her dad's arms, and the juice spilt out of the glass and drenched her arm. Her dad rubbed her back and asked in a soothing tone, "Honey, what's going on? Tell me."
But Luna couldn't speak. The image of the crows all cawing (as if at her) had embedded itself into her mind; just the thought of the birds sent shivers running up and down her spine. She buried her face in her dad's chest and shook her head. She managed to choke out, "I want Mummy."
"All right, my love," her dad said, getting to his feet. "She's down in her lab. Do you want me to come with you?"
"No," Luna said, sniffling. "I just want Mummy!" She turned around and dashed towards the basement, which her mother used for her experiments. Outside the door was another red poppy, and Luna's heart almost gave out on her. She threw open the door and ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time.
"Mummy," she called out, trying not to cry. She didn't even know why she was so scared; the crow had been her friend before, so she shouldn't be scared of him, right? The ominous cawing resounded in her ears again, and Luna covered her ears and yelled, "Mummy!"
The lab was lit with different candles and fairy lights; it looked beautiful. But it was only when her mum came into view did Luna relax.
Her mum stood in the middle of a red circle, with white poppies placed all around it. Her eyes were closed, her arms were outstretched, and she was wearing robes of pure white. She was murmuring a strange incantation, and magic was swirling around her in puffs of green, blue, and purple smoke.
Luna ran barefoot across the cool floor and into the circle. She threw her arms around her mum's waist and hugged her tightly. "Mummy, I'm so scared. The crow is outside with its friends, and—"
Her mum's incantation stopped in the middle.
A hand pressed insistently on Luna's head, and when she looked up, she realised her mother's eyes were wide open with horror. Before Luna could question her, her mum shoved her backwards out of the circle. Luna landed on her bottom and gaped at the scene.
An inhuman shriek left her mum's lips, the sound so utterly terrifying that Luna whimpered and covered her ears. The red circle glowed a brilliant white, and then…
An ear-splitting bang. An explosion. Chunks of flesh flew around the room. Rivers of blood painted the white poppies red.
And Luna knew no more.
When Luna regained consciousness, all she could think of was her mum's horrified expression. She scrambled up only to realise she was in her bedroom.
The red poppies she'd loved so much were all around her.
She clenched her eyes shut and tried to push the image out, but it was soon followed by the memories of her mum's blood splattering against the wall, drenching the white flowers, painting the floor red.
The first thought that went through Luna's mind was, 'It's all my fault.'
She wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed. Her shoulders trembled as she gasped for breath, but the tears continued to stream down her face.
If she hadn't gone to trouble her mum with her stupid worries, her mum would be fine.
If she hadn't paid attention to the stupid crow, this wouldn't have happened.
Luna wailed and buried her face in her hands, rocking back and forth as she whispered pitiful apologies to her mum. "I'm sorry, Mum... This is all my fault… I shouldn't have—I shouldn't—"
But the damage was already done.
Luna was the cause of her mother's devastation, and she would have to live her life with that fact weighing down upon her guilty soul.
A red poppy floated down from the wall and landed in front of her.